Ankle support



Dec. 27, 1960 R. D.'GRIFFIN ANKLESUPPORT Filed July 24. 1959 INVENTOR.

QlcHAno DEAN GRIFFIN ATTORNEY s, In

United States Patent ANKLE SUPPORT Richard Dean Gritfin, 617 Chestnut 'St., Laurens, S.C.

Filed July 24, 1959, Ser. No. 829,392

3 Claims. (Cl. 368.5)

This invention relates to ankle supports and more especially to an athletic shoe having an ankle support which prevents turned or sprained ankles.

It has been found that a great majority of ankle injuries occur in the area of the distal fibula or outside ankle bone in the form of sprained or torn ligaments resulting from the ankle being turned. These injuries are especially numerous among athletes, especially those taking part in basketball games and the like. In connection with basketball, it is standard procedure to tape the ankles of participants in order to avoid ankle sprains. It has been found that once an ankle is severely sprained, it is never as strong again and such sprains of course are very painful and result in players being put out of action for a considerable time. Taping is a costly and time consuming process and often results in skin irritations where the ankles are repeatedly taped. For these reasons, the ankles are often not taped for practice games so that the subject matter of this invention would be especially useful to prevent turned ankles in practice.

Accordingly an object of this invention is to provide an improved athletic shoe support for the prevention of ankle injuries.

An important object of this invention is prevention of twisted or sprained ankles resulting from engaging in sports such as basketball.

Another object of this invention is to provide an effective support for the ankles of athletes while eliminating the use of tape for achieving such support.

Another object of this invention is to provide an athletic shoe which will provide increasing resistance to the outward turning of the ankle of the user and prevent such turning as would result in injury to the ankle.

Still another object of the invention is reducing the cost of equipping athletes and yet providing an effective ankle support.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an ankle support which is made effective by simply putting on shoes equipped with the support thus providing support for practice and the like when the expense and trouble of taping is not warranted.

Another object of the invention is the prevention of ankle sprains by providing a brace attached to the shoe preventing excessive outward turning of the ankle and for permitting flexibility of normal movements.

The construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with other features thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an ankle support constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the device shown in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, an ankle support constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown at A attached to an athletic shoe B. The ankle support A is preferably constructed from flat light-weight aluminum. The ankle support consists es sentially of a flat bottom portion 10 which is shown fastened to the bottom of the shoe at the instep, an outwardly and upwardly extending support element 11 which engages the surface on which the wearer is standing and transmits force when the ankle is turned outwardly to an upwardly and inwardly extending support element 12 which places pressure in the area of the junction of the tarsal and metatarsal bones of the user. The ankle support A is shown as being of integral construction and is provided with a pad 13 which is preferably constructed of a suitable resilient deformable material such as foam rubber.

Figure 3 shows a means for attaching the ankle support A to the sole 14 of the shoe B adjacent the junction of the tarsal and metatarsal bones. The fastening means are shown in a form rivets 15. It is evident that the fastening means may take any form and that the ankle support could be formed within the sole 14. The support elements 11 and 12 may be encased within the shoe top 16 if desired or may be exposed as shown in the drawing.

It is important that the ankle support A extend outwardly from the outsole of the shoe for a distance sufficient to prevent excessive turning of the ankle. The ankle support A acts to exert increasing pressure in the area of the junction of the tarsal and metatarsal bones as the support element 11 engages the surface on which the user is standing with increased force. It has been found that through this action it is almost impossible for the user to suffer a turned ankle.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described using specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ankle support for use with an athletic shoe including, an outwardly and upwardly extending support element for attachment to the outsole of a shoe and extending outwardly thereof, and a support element integral therewith extending upwardly and inwardly over the shoe from the upper end of the first mentioned support element placing pressure in the area of the junction of the tarsal and metatarsal bones of a wearer of the shoe when the ankle is turned outwardly so that the outwardly and upwardly extending support element engages the surface upon which the wearer is standing.

2. In combination with an athletic shoe, a support including, a flat member connected to the outsole of said shoe closely adjacent the junction of the tarsal and metatarsal bones of a wearer of the shoe, an outwardly and upwardly extending flat portion integral with said flat member, and an upwardly and inwardly extending support formed from a flat portion integral with said flat portion exerting pressure upon the junction of the tarsal and metatarsal bones of a wearer of the shoe when the ankle is turned outwardly so that the outwardly and upwardly extending flat portion engages the surface upon which the wearer is standing.

3. An ankle support as set forth in claim 2 including, a pad of cushioning material on the inner portion of said support.

Wallace June 27, 1882 Severy Aug. 24, 1920 

